原文標(biāo)題：
The origins of wine
Of vino, veritas
The origin of grapevines is a tangled vine itself
葡萄酒的起源
在葡萄酒中尋找真相
葡萄藤的起源如同一條交織復(fù)雜的藤蔓

But genetics is untangling it
但可以通過基因來解密

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ACCORDING TO THE Bible, Noah was the first man to make wine. He was also, not unrelatedly, the first man to drink to excess, be found naked in his own vineyard, and wake up with a hangover.

據(jù)《圣經(jīng)》記載，諾亞是第一個釀造葡萄酒的人，與此相關(guān)的是，他也是第一個喝醉、在自己的葡萄園里赤身裸體，醒來后頭疼欲裂的人。

But, certain colourful details aside, this legend of the most premier of crus is not too far off the standard picture of the birth of viticulture: a single domestication that happened thousands of years in the past.
但是，除了這些絢麗多彩的細節(jié)之外，這個傳說講述的葡萄酒的起源與歷史上的葡萄種植的起源相差不遠：數(shù)千年前，人們進行了單一的馴化。

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But how many thousands?

但問題是：具體在幾千年前呢？

Most domestications of Old World crops and animals are thought to have taken place during a white-hot period of innovation between 15,000 and 10,000 years ago.

人們普遍認為大多數(shù)舊世界作物和動物的馴化是在1.5萬-1萬年前的一段如火如荼的創(chuàng)新期間發(fā)生的。

Grapes were a notable exception.Small-scale genetic analyses had pegged their cultivation as happening between 15,000 and 400,000 years ago—a range implausibly wide, not least because, a few minor excursions aside, Homo sapiens left Africa only about 60,000 years before the present day.
葡萄則是一個值得注意的例外。小規(guī)模的基因分析將它們的栽培時間定在了1.5萬到4萬年前，這個范圍太過寬泛不可信，尤其是因為智人離開非洲的時間距今只有6萬年左右，一些較小的遷徙之除外。

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This estimate of when grapes were first cultivated has now been pruned.

然而，關(guān)于葡萄最早的估計種植時間現(xiàn)已被削減。

In a study just published in Science, Chen Wei of Yunnan Agricultural University, in China, and a team of collaborators from across the world, have distilled a new picture.

在一項剛剛發(fā)表在《科學(xué)》雜志上的研究中，中國云南農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)的陳偉以及來自世界各地的合作者團隊得出了一個新的結(jié)論。

Grapevines were, it seems, domesticated on two occasions, in quick succession but in different parts of the world, about 11,000 years ago.

大約1.1萬年前，葡萄藤分別在世界不同地區(qū)連續(xù)經(jīng)歷了2次馴化。

That makes the old model so much noble rot. “Now that whole building just collapsed,” says Dr Chen.
這使得舊模型如同葡萄貴腐一般不堪一擊。陳博士說：“現(xiàn)在，整個理論框架都已經(jīng)崩塌了。”

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The confusion was caused not by poor analysis but limited data.

混亂局面并不是由于分析不對，而是由于數(shù)據(jù)有限導(dǎo)致的。

Indeed, one of Dr Chen’s own papers provided evidence for the 400,000 year figure, based on some 70 varieties of wild grapes from a small region of Germany.

事實上，陳博士自己的一篇論文提供了基于德國一個小區(qū)域70個野生葡萄品種的40萬年數(shù)字證據(jù)。

His new work tramples over such limitations by including over 3,500 varieties from the full terroir of existing viticulture: 1,000 or so wild; the remainder cultivated.

他的新研究工作超越了這種限制，包括來自現(xiàn)有葡萄種植全區(qū)域的3,500多個品種：約1,000個是野生的，其余是栽培的。

Getting hold of that many samples was not easy. Dr Chen’s team relied on the good will of collaborators, enthused by the prospect of participating in a definitive study with generous funding, provided mostly by Chinese scientific bodies.
獲得這么多樣本數(shù)據(jù)并不容易。陳博士的團隊得益于依賴于合作者的善意，他們熱衷于參與這項具有決定性意義的研究，并且得到了中國科學(xué)機構(gòu)慷慨的資助。

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Kristina Margaryan, of the Institute of Molecular Biology in Armenia, for instance, spent weeks trekking with colleagues through her country’s hills, collecting what would later turn out to be hundreds of hitherto unknown varieties of wild grape.

例如，亞美尼亞分子生物學(xué)研究所的克里斯蒂娜·馬加里安與同事們花費數(shù)周時間穿越亞美尼亞山區(qū)，收集到數(shù)百個此前未知的野生葡萄品種。

Elsewhere, researchers negotiated with vineyard owners to take samples from their precious vines.
在其他地方，研究人員與葡萄園主協(xié)商，從他們珍貴的葡萄藤上采樣。

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Thousands of these were then sent to Dr Chen’s laboratory, where each had its DNA extracted, sequenced and fed into a supercomputer for analysis.

隨后數(shù)千個樣本被送到陳博士的實驗室，研究人員在實驗室提取了每個樣本的DNA，進行了測序并輸入超級計算機進行分析。

This compared the sequences for each sample, looking for variations that would suggest evolutionary steps and, hence, familial links.

計算機對每個樣本的序列進行比較，來找出表明進化步驟的變異及弄清楚葡萄品種的親緣關(guān)系。

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The results revealed that present-day grape varieties can be split into ten groups: four of wild Vitis sylvestris and six of cultivated Vitis vinifera.

研究結(jié)果表明，現(xiàn)代葡萄品種可以分為10個群體：4個是野生的歐亞葡萄（Vitis sylvestris），另外6個是栽培種植的歐洲葡萄（Vitis vinifera）。

All arose from a proto-vine which split, some 200,000-400,000 years ago, into two varieties, Syl-E, which flourished in the Caucasus and Levant, and Syl-W, which grew across western Europe.
這些品種都起源于一種原始的藤蔓，大約在 20-40 萬年前分裂成2個品種：Syl-E和Syl-W。其中Syl-E分布在高加索和黎凡特地區(qū)，而Syl-W則分布在歐洲西部。

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What happened next recalls another aspect of the biblical story: climate-change-induced selection.

接下來的情況類似于圣經(jīng)故事的另一面：氣候變化引起的自然選擇。

In this case it was not a flood, but a cooling. As temperatures declined through the last glacial period, and conditions became less hospitable, varieties in different regions evolved different mechanisms for survival.

這次不是洪水，而是氣候變冷。由于最后的冰河時期氣溫下降，環(huán)境變得不那么適宜，不同地區(qū)的葡萄品種演化出不同的生存機制。

By 56,000 years ago, Syl-E had split into Syl-E1 and Syl-E2, with Syl-W following suit around 500BC.
到了大約5.6萬年前，Syl-E分裂成了Syl-E1和Syl-E2，隨后Syl-W也在公元前500年左右分裂出來。

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The analysis also showed that around 11,000 years ago, a strain of Syl-E1 was cultivated somewhere near modern-day Israel that would become the ancestor of almost all today’s varieties.

分析還顯示，在約11,000年前，人們在今天的以色列附近種植了Syl-E1的品種，它會成為幾乎所有現(xiàn)代葡萄品種的祖先。

As well as spreading southward to north Africa and thence as far west as Morocco, it was also carried north to Anatolia, where, within the space of 500 years, it gave rise to a new family.

除了向南傳播到北非，向西到達摩洛哥外，它還向北傳播到安納托利亞，在500年的時間里在那里產(chǎn)生了一個新品種。

The next big evolutionary milestone would come 8,000 years later, when new strains appeared in the Balkans and then, in quick succession, Iberia and modern-day France.
下一個重要的進化里程碑將在8000年后出現(xiàn)，當(dāng)時新品種出現(xiàn)在巴爾干半島，然后相繼出現(xiàn)在伊比利亞和今天的法國地區(qū)。

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At almost exactly the same time that this story was beginning in the Middle East, a similar process was under way with Syl-E2 in modern-day Georgia.

當(dāng)新品種出現(xiàn)在中東時，現(xiàn)代格魯吉亞地區(qū)的Syl-E2也開始了類似的進程。

Because of the mountainous terrain, migration of this grape was more limited, so the varieties developed here remained more isolated.

由于地形多山，這種葡萄的遷徙范圍更有限，因此這里的品種更加孤立。

That did not stop its legend spreading. Noah’s vineyard was supposedly near Mount Ararat, in what is now north-east Turkey. “So now it isn’t legend,” says Dr Margaryan.
但這并沒有限制傳說的傳播。據(jù)說諾亞的葡萄園就在阿拉騰山附近，即今天的土耳其東北部。"因此現(xiàn)在這個故事不再是傳說了，"馬加里安博士說道。
?
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It may seem odd that grapes were domesticated twice, but simultaneous invention is hardly unheard of in the history of technology.

葡萄被馴化2次可能看起來很奇怪，但是在技術(shù)發(fā)明史上，發(fā)明創(chuàng)造同時出現(xiàn)并不罕見。

Alternatively, perhaps, as news flowed between the Caucasus and the Levant, one budding innovator may have pinched another’s brainwave.

另一種可能是，當(dāng)消息在高加索和黎凡特之間傳播時，一個初露頭角的創(chuàng)新者可能盜取了另一個人的創(chuàng)意。

It may even have been inadvertent. Perhaps they simply heard it through the grapevine.
甚至可能是無意的。也許他們只是通過葡萄藤得知了這個創(chuàng)意。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語詞匯量801左右）
原文出自：2023年3月4日《The Economist》Science & technology版塊。

精讀筆記來源于：自由英語之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene本文編輯校對: Irene
僅供個人英語學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補充資料】（來自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
根據(jù)圣經(jīng)記載，當(dāng)時人類的邪惡和罪惡達到了極點，上帝決定洪水來臨，毀滅地上的一切生命。上帝指示諾亞建造一艘方舟，將他和他的家人，以及各種動物帶入方舟中，以在洪水中幸存下來。據(jù)記載，諾亞是亞當(dāng)?shù)暮蟠?，他在?dāng)時的文化背景下是一位虔誠的信徒，敬畏上帝，遵守上帝的教誨。在洪水過后，上帝與諾亞建立了盟約，承諾再也不會用洪水毀滅全地。諾亞的故事在圣經(jīng)中被廣泛提及，被認為是信仰、忠誠、謙卑和生存的象征。據(jù)《創(chuàng)世記》9章20-21節(jié)記載，洪水后諾亞種植了一片葡萄園，采摘了葡萄，釀造了葡萄酒。在飲用自己釀造的酒后，他醉倒在自己的帳篷里，被自己的兒子看到了。這個故事后來被廣泛解讀為對克制、適度和尊重的警示，也被視為葡萄酒釀造的早期歷史之一。

【重點句子】（3?個）
Grapevines were, it seems, domesticated on two occasions, in quick succession but in different parts of the world, about 11,000 years ago.
大約1.1萬年前，葡萄藤分別在世界不同地區(qū)連續(xù)經(jīng)歷了兩次馴化。

The confusion was caused not by poor analysis but limited data.
混亂局面并不是由于分析不對，而是由于數(shù)據(jù)有限導(dǎo)致的。

What happened next recalls another aspect of the biblical story: climate-change-induced selection.
接下來的情況類似于圣經(jīng)故事的另一面：氣候變化引起的自然選擇。